In a reflection of the changing fortunes of the auto industry, a Democratic congressional delegation touring the Detroit Auto Show joked as they perused the GM, Ford and Chrysler displays.

Jumping out of the driver’s seat of a shiny red Chevy Sonic, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) exclaimed: “We hardly used any gas at all.” Later as he discovered the doors of a Buick Regal were locked, he said: “This is high-end. It’s locked. And I was going to drive it out too, son of a gun.”